Javier Alvarez Valle

Things that you can find on a Sunday in Cambridge:

After 2 months with the blog idle, I should write something. First an outline about this two months:

• Birthday in Holland
• 1 month with my cousin José here in Cambridge. Amazing adventures…
•  Tomorrow bank holiday to celebrate the end of the summer

In the next posts I would like to start to write more about tech stuff. I have a couple of post in mind.

I am leaving here a couple of photos. Check my T-Shirt and the fantastic van!

In my region we have a language called “Asturianu“.

“Asturian (Asturian: Asturianu or Bable) is a Romance language of the West Iberian group, Astur-Leonese Subgroup, spoken in the Spanish province of Asturias by the Asturian people. In Asturias it is protected under the Autonomous Statute legislation and is an optional language at schools, being widely studied.” Wikipedia

I would like to write in defense of one of my languages since these days in the University of my region they decided to exclude the Asturian Philology from the new European studies that they are designing.

From my point of view, I think that this is one of the many stupid decisions taken in this University. How are we going to preserve our culture and language with this kind of decisions?

The people in favour of this decision argue that our region need other investments and this is a waste of money since nobody speaks this language. This language is not very used due to the lack of professors and the repression by some people saying that only people from the small towns use it. From my point of view, all these arguments are shallow and greedy and from people that don’t care about the history or the culture of a country and they don’t know where they come from and where they go.

Furthermore, in Spain the richest regions are the ones that care about their heritage. However, in Asturias we have much more culture that some of these regions but we don’t care about it and we are going to lose it. Another example is the UK, where I am living now, where they care a lot about their culture and it is one of the keys of their succees.

Finally a question to think about. Does it do any harm to learn Asturian language apart from Spanish and other important languages like English or Chinese?

Investing in education and culture will never be a waste of money.

Last weekend I went with some friends to Scotland. We went to the west coast. There are very nice places there. The first night we slept in Glasgow and the next day we went to Fort William and the west coast visiting castles and small villages in the coast. After that we went down all the coast.

I can recommend as the best:

• Oban
• Culzean Castle

I am waiting for some photos! I will update later this post!

I have started working for a great company www.red-gate.com in Cambridge.  The culture of the company is really good.

We are developing amazing tools for SQL Server and .NET and the philosophy behind it is “ingeniously simple tools”.

If you want to send the CV, let me know.

After several months in “Asturias patria querida“, I decided to move to UK. Now I am settled in Cambridge and I am going to start a new job.

I will try to promote my new company next week… Keep in touch…

I have been traveling around the heart of Europe these days. The trip was really interesting and I want to leave here some good photos that I took.

Brussels and the pissers

Amsterdam the pisser

Maastricht the man with the torch

As you can see in Maastricht there are not people pissing in the street.

In a few days I will go to Brussells and Netherlands. I would like to write here my tourist objectives.

• I am going to visit Brussels, Maastricht and Amsterdam.
• I would like to try dutch cheeses, Gouda, Edam and Leiden.
• Have a look into red-light district and coffee shops
• If possible visit Volendam
• Try dutch beers

The trip is just 5 days so I think that it is enough! Let’s see what happens…

Yesterday I bought a flight to Brussells with ryanair just for 21 euros. They are celebrating their new webpage and selling a lot of tickets for free, you just need to pay the taxes.

Since I have to go to Valladolid in order to take the flight I am going to pay more for the bus ticket than for the flight from Valladolid to Brussells. It reminds me about the inflaction issue. You just have to look back for example 10 years ago and see that technology and communications every day is cheaper. Who could fly 10 years ago for 55 euros whole trip from Asturias to almost everywhere in Europe?

I think that basic products cost is increasing but it is normal since we are changing our way of living. In Spain, 30 years ago almost everyone had their own crop but today we have much more variety in the shops and you have to pay it. The life in cities is more expensive since you have more services. However, still nowadays, if you move to a village you will have, of course, more purchasing power because you just have a very cheap bar, landscape and you can cultivate your own potatoes.

Today I want to translate a song related with the currently election campaign in Spain. This song is translated from Asturiano to English and it is dedicated to all the politics with the aim to recommend them please do not behave like in this song.

DOYTE UN GÜEVU
Autores: Constantino Blanco “Tante”

Incrustáu, incrustáu
apegáu, apegáu
a un sillón de un despacho oficial, oficial

Puedes enrollate a la mi moza
y con ella dir a retozar.
Puedes llamame cornudo
que no me va a importar.
Puedes arrobame le mi mercedes
y estrellalu contra una pared.
Puedes reventame el pisu
o quemame el chalet, mi chalet,…

Doite un güevu,si ye poco dos;
pero el cargu en la administración
eso no, eso no, eso no.

Puedes descubrir que tomo drogues
porque en el fondo, tienes razón
puedes sacarme los trapos
en la presa del corazón.
Pues quitame incluso media vida
y vendela en cachos como un culebrón.

Puedes arrancame un güeyu
y echame a vender el cupón, el cupón.
Doite un güevu,si ye poco dos;
pero el cargu en la administración
eso no, eso no, eso no.

(English version)
I GIVE YOU AN EGG
Authors: Constantino Blanco “Tante”

Encrusted, encrusted
glued, glued
to an armchair of an officer office, officer
You can have an affair with my girlfriend
and smooch with her
you can call me cuckolded
that will not worry me.

You can steal my Mercedes
and crash it against a wall
You can destroy my flat
or you can burn my house, my house,…

I give you an egg,
and if it is little two;
but my position
in the administration
not that, not that, not that.

You can discover that I take drugs
because basically, it is true
you can show my dirty linen
in the yellow press.
You can take half of my life
and sell it in pieces like a soap opera
You can gouge me an eye out
and send me to sell the big issue, the big issue.

I give you an egg,
and if it is little two;
but my position
in the administration
not that, not that, not that.